Yesterday, I decided to take a stroll along the Avenue de la Cultura, a road leading up to Plaza de Armas. Walking in Peru is an entirely different experience. The sidewalks are somewhat uneven. In other words, the sidewalks are not well paved. There are tons of dents and hollows in the sidewalks.

The trashcans are absolutely bizarre! All trash being tossed into the cans does NOT go into a trash bag! It goes in the ground! When trash collectors pick up trash, they open up the entire door that is attached to the trashcan and lo and behold, there is a HUGE pile of trash underground. They sure do have to spend some time pulling all the trash out of the ground. I wonder why they thought of this way rather than the simpler way which is just to have trash bags in the trashcans – all they have to do is pull the bag out, and they’re done!

Many of the buildings are old and worn out. At the same time, many of them are painted in bright colors to add some a feeling of happiness to the atmosphere.

There is a big number of pedestrians along this road and even on other roads throughout Cusco. In fact, it is not common for Peruvians to own a car. Many of them walk or take a taxi. Taxis are absolutely abundant in Cusco like New York! (Unless there is a strike!)